Spooky Spending Treat

More adults expected to spend more on average for candy this Halloween

September 26, 2012

WASHINGTON -- A total of 96% of U.S. adults 18 years or older plan to buy candy this Halloween, each spending an average of $24.25, up from 95.5% each spending an average of $22.05, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) 2012 Halloween consumer spending survey conducted by BIGinsight. The 2012 spending represents $2.33 billion of the expected $8 billion total Halloween spending on decorations, costumes and candy.

Despite record spending figures for this year's Halloween holiday, however, one-fourth of U.S. consumers (25.9%) say the state of the economy will affect their Halloween plans. To compensate, 18% will make a costume instead of buying one and more than one-third (36.1%) will buy less candy.

See File Attachments below for the complete survey results, including breakdowns by gender, age, income and region.

A record 170 million people plan to celebrate Halloween this year, according to NRF's survey. Seven in 10 Americans (71.5%) will get into the haunting Halloween mood, up from 68.6% last year and the most in NRF's 10-year survey history. Consumers are expecting to spend more too; the average person will spend $79.82 on decorations, costumes and candy, up from $72.31 last year.

"By the time Halloween rolls around each year, it's safe to say Americans have already spent two months preparing for one of the fastest-growing and most widely loved holidays of the year," said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. "Retailers know that when it comes to Halloween, new costume ideas for children, adults and pets, and the latest in home and yard décor top people's shopping lists. We expect retailers to stock their shelves well ahead of time to capture the attention of eager holiday shoppers."

When it comes to looking for Halloween costume ideas, consumers say their biggest source of inspiration is what they see in a retail store or costume shop. More than one-third (35.7%) will look for new ideas in a store and nearly one-quarter (23.7%) will turn to their friends and family.

Social media will also play a role in choosing costumes: 15.2% will check out Facebook for inspiration and 7.1% will scour the visually-appealing Pinterest. Online searches will also be popular with celebrants: 33.3% say they will get their inspiration online. Of those buying or making costumes, the average person will spend $28.65 on costumes this year, up slightly from $26.52 in 2011.

Overall, consumers will spend billions on Halloween costumes this year. Families with children who plan to dress up for the holiday will spend a total of $1.1 billion on their children's costumes, up slightly from $1.0 billion last year. Not to be outdone by their children, adults will spend $1.4 billion on vampire, witch and zombie costumes, up from $1.2 billion in 2011. More pets will hit the town this Halloween as well: pet owners plan to shell out $370 million on pint-sized costumes, up from $310 million in 2011.

"Almost as soon as people bring down their fall and winter apparel from the top shelves in their closets, Halloween becomes top of mind," said BIGinsight executive vice president of strategic initiatives Phil Rist. "There's certainly pent-up demand for having some fun this year and shoppers are planning to spend their hard-earned dollars on items that help them get into the Halloween spirit."

Of the people celebrating Halloween this year, more than half (51.4%) will decorate their home or yard, up from 49.5% last year, and 45.0% plan to dress in costume, also up from last year (43.9%.) More than one-third (36.2%) will throw or attend a party and 33.2% will take children trick-or-treating. Additionally, 15.1% will ensure their furry friends are part of the fun too, by dressing their pet in costume.

NRF's 2012 Halloween consumer spending surveys were designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to Halloween spending. The surveys were conducted for NRF by BIGinsight. The poll of 9,393 consumers was conducted from Sept. 5-11, 2012.

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